feast of our lady of the rosary, october ó autumn ì í ò...
TRANSCRIPT
1
East Anglian Region Newsletter
Autumn 2016
October—month of the Holy Rosary
2
Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, October 7th, 2016.
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
Thank you to those of you who have sent in contributions to this newsletter. I hope you find the contents interesting, if a bit sparse on Franciscan content. Please send me more reports of Franciscan activity in the region. Details on page 15. Thank you!
I had been wondering what to put on the front cover and as I was saying the Rosary with my wife this evening. Our Lady gave me the answer. What more suitable than Our Lady of the Rosary, in the month of the Rosary and on the day of her feast?
Also, as it may be helpful to some of you, I will add some thoughts on saying the Rosary and keeping focused on the mystery. There are many ways of saying the Rosary, but you may find this way helpful in your meditations. It is in the centre of this issue. [editor]
Report from Gospel to life fraternity, Bedford
We continue to meet every month and during the winter months we met at the flat of our sister, Petronella, as she is confined to a chair and finds it difficult to get out and she does love it when we meet at her place.
At our meetings we have been studying Pope Francis’ letters and we always say Evening Prayer of the Church. At every meeting we have a raffle of things brought by our brothers and sisters, maybe a tin or a book or a packet of biscuits etc. Then we all pay something and draw a name out of a bag. That way we raise money for various charities, including the Leper Colony at Mutemwa in Zimbabwe where John Bradburne, Secular Franciscan [TOSF] lived and worked with lepers for ten years before he was martyred.
Some of our members have attended the Regional Day at Walsingham, the Day of Recollection at Clacton with Father Patrick Lonsdale and a Day of Recollection at Arkley with Father Jesmond Pawley OFM Conv. Both friars were encouraging us to go deeper into studying the gospels, by Lectio Divina.
We keep in regular contact with all members, posting our minutes, Minister’s letters and study sheets for on-going formation to those not present at a particular meeting. We try to visit members unable to attend meetings.
Three of us will be attending the Regional Council Meeting in Newmarket on October 22nd. Anne T. Simmonds, Minister, Gospel to Life Fraternity, Bedford.
3
CAMBRIDGE ‘OUR LADY OF THE POOR’ FRATERNITY OF THE SECULAR FRANCISCAN ORDER – MINUTES OF THE MEETING AT OLEM ON SATURDAY 9 JULY 2016
Present at the meeting were professed members of the fraternity - Jaci, Peter, Daphne, Trudie, Sr. Rosalie, Chris – and our visitor Annette, also visitors Tony and Andrea from Norwich. Apologies for not being able to come were received from Trish Bridgeford, also from Michael Mortimer of the Bedford fraternity. The meeting began at 11.30 with introductions for our new visitors, and Jaci giving ex-planations and information about the Secular Franciscan Order, and the monthly fraternity meetings, in particular saying that we were not just a different sort of prayer group but that the OFS is a recognised [religious] lay order within the Church. Together we sang ‘Make me a channel of your peace’ and then said the Opening Prayers from the Handbook, and then prayed the Saturday Office of Our Lady, with intercessory prayer for those unwell, especially OFS members, and Fr. Sandy. We prayed the Franciscan Consecration to the Sacred Heart, remembering OFS members who have died.
Following our spiritual director’s recommendation (Fr. Patrick Lonsdale), that we should reflect on the scripture readings of the day, especially the gospel, or engage in Lectio Divina, Jaci started by asking Peter to read Isaiah 6:1-8, and suggesting that we each try to discern what was special in this passage for each of us. Daphne was struck in particular that the glory of the Lord of hosts ‘fills the whole earth’, and Sr. Rosalie commented that we are all sent. Peter then read Matthew 10:24-33. Jaci talked of the mercy of God and Jesus, remembering the repentant thief crucified with Jesus, and said we should persevere in prayer, with Our Lady, for the conver-sion of sinners. We should not be afraid but pray that the Lord protect our souls, and ask for the grace to withstand the snares of the devil. It was noted that the phrase ‘do not be afraid’ occurs three times in this gospel passage, and Peter com-mented that it appears frequently throughout the New Testament. Tony said that when angels come their first words are ‘do not be afraid’.Jaci recommended, and read from, the book ‘The Lessons of St. Francis – how to bring simplicity into daily life’ by John Michael Talbot with Steve Rabey. The discussion was then about how all the saints tried to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, but that none did this as close-ly as St. Francis. His concern was simply the imitation of Christ, and he was totally focused on the Jesus of the gospels. In this connection G.K. Chesterton wrote that ‘St. Francis walked the world like the pardon of God’.
4
We then turned to thinking about holiness and penance, the starting point being some paragraphs about these in ‘The Way of St. Francis’, by Murray Bodo (pp144-145). Here holiness is wholeness, or the pursuit of wholeness, where - ‘True reli-gion is loving God with my whole soul and my whole mind and my whole body as a whole person … It is only when I am one that I can love others properly, because I love them as myself’. And for Murray Bodo post Vatican 2 penance is not about punishing ourselves but involves turning from self to God, letting go and trusting God, renunciation, conversion and selflessness – ‘Conversion, or the letting go of self, takes real penance, because I would prefer to be in complete charge of my own salvation’ (p145) – we must ‘let God be God’.
Our ‘prayer of the month’ is not this July through to August taken from the Hand-book, but is simply a daily Hail Mary for personal intentions. We talked also about the brown scapular of Our Lady, and Sr. Rosalie told us about how a silver image of her metal-free scapular had showed up on X ray.
We enjoyed a shared lunch. The secret bag [Common Fund] collection was £75.51, which with June’s collection (£47.21) and cash in hand (£30.68), came to £153.40 – with £40 expenses deducted our new cash in hand is £113.40. The meeting ended with closing prayers from the Handbook. Our next meeting is on Saturday 13 Au-gust at OLEM.
Sent by Jaci—Minister? [not signed]
Bl John Duns Scotus Fraternity Ipswich
Our Fraternity continues to meet monthly at one or other of our two locations on Sunday afternoon - St Marys Ipswich and Holy Family Brantham. By way of a change we now also hold our August meeting at St Clare’s Church, Framling-ham during which we venerate relics of St Francis and St Clare and include a litany of St Clare. Bruisyard Hall is not far from Framingham and is reputed to be the site of an early Poor Clare nunnery. Suffolk was nicknamed selig or seely (blessed) Suffolk because of its numerous churches and religious houses in me-dieval times. Later this was unfortunately corrupted to silly.
Five members plus two spouses also enjoyed an informal meal together at Felixstowe in August. Four members of the Fraternity made the journey to Walsingham for the Regional Pilgrimage on 3rd Sept. to mark the Day of Care for Creation which has been designated to take place annually on 1st Sept.
We now look forward to our elections in March next year. [Edwin Edwards – Minister]
5
Saturday 17th September 2016: Two members of the Ipswich ‘Blessed John Duns Scotus’ Fraternity – Claire Lamont-Buxton ofs and Chris Housden ofs – made their professions to Edwin Edwards ofs, Fraternity Minister, this was wit-nessed by Fr Patrick Lonsdale OFM during the East Anglian Regional Day of Rec-ollection Mass held at Our Lady of Light & St Osyth Church, Clacton-on-Sea, on Saturday 17th September 2016 – the Feast of St Francis’ Stigmata. Fr Patrick was assisted at the concelebrated Mass by Canon Peter Connor ofs, Parish Priest of Our Lady of Light & St Osyth Parish, who is a member of the Clacton ‘Our Lady of Light’ Fraternity.
Edwin Edwards—Minister
6
This exciting article was sent in by Rob Hardie ofs [Norwich Fraternity]:
Sunday, April 17, 2016
Eucharistic Miracle in Poland approved by Bishop.
Proven by DNA testing
The following is an announcement from the Bishop of Legnica, Poland, on the Eucharistic Miracle in St. Jack Parish in Legnica.
Sisters and Brothers in Our Lord Jesus Christ!
As the Bishop of Legnica I hereby announce to the public and inform about an event that took place in the parish of St. Jack in Lagnica, which has the signs of the Eucharistic miracle.
On 25th December 2013, during the distribution of the Holy Communion, a consecrated Host fell to the floor and then was picked up and placed in a water-filled container [vasculum]. Soon after, stains of the red colour appeared. The for-mer Bishop of Legnica, Stefan Cichy, set up a commission to observe the phenome-non. In February 2014, a tiny red fragment of the Host was separated and put on a corporal. The Commission ordered to take samples in order to conduct the thor-ough tests by the relevant research institutes.
In the final announcement of the Department of Forensic Medicine we read as follows:
In the histopathalogical image, the fragments of tissue have been found contain-ing the fragmented parts of the cross-striated muscle.
[…] The whole […] is most similar to the heart muscle with alterations that often appear during the agony. The genetic researches indicate the human origin of the tissue.
In January this year I presented the whole matter to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in the Vatican. Today, according to the recommendations of the Holy See, I ordered the parish vicar Andrzej Ziombro to prepare a suitable place for a display of the Relic so that the faithful could give it the proper adora-tion.
Hereby, I also ask for providing the visitors with information and conducting the regular teaching that could help the faithful to have the proper attitude to the Eucharistic cult. I also command to form a book to register all received benefits and other miraculous events.
7
I hope that this will serve to deepen the cult of the Eucharist and will have deep impact on the lives of people facing the Relic. We see the mysterious Sign as an extraordinary act of love and goodness of God. I cordially ask for your prayer and I bless you.
+ Zbigniew Kiernikowski
The Bishop of Legnica [Translated from Polish]
[from The Medjugorje News Letter ]
If you found this article interesting, I recommend a book entitled
‘RECIPE for Eternal Life, being texts from “Love One Another” magazine’. It is amazing.
It is of Polish origin. The English edition is published by Wydawnictwo
AGAPE sp.z o.o.
ISBN 978-83-63759-07-0
www.agape.org.pl
8
One way to meditate on the Rosary
Pope St. John Paul suggested in his exhortation on the Rosary, that the mystery be-ing contemplated should be mentioned in the middle of each Hail Mary to help us to keep the mystery in mind. This is what he said:
The ten “Hail Marys”
The centre of gravity in the Hail Mary, the hinge as it were which joins its two parts, is the name of Jesus. Sometimes, in hurried recitation, this centre of gravity can be overlooked, and with it the connection to the mystery of Christ being contemplated. Yet it is precisely the em-phasis given to the name of Jesus and to his mystery that is the sign of a meaningful and fruitful recitation of the Rosary. Pope Paul VI drew attention, in his Apostolic Exhortation Marialis Cultus, to the custom in certain regions of highlighting the name of Christ by the addition of a clause referring to the mystery being contemplated.(37) This is a praiseworthy custom, especially during public recitation.
So we say, for example, ‘Hail Mary, full of grace, The Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women and blessed is he fruit of thy womb, Jesus, AT THE ANNUNCI-ATION. Holy Mary, Mother of God…..’ In this way of meditation, we pray as in the present and directly to Jesus in the first person—’You’ and not ‘He’.
On that basis, this is one way to pray the mysteries of the Rosary.
[After you have prayed the introductory prayers]:
The first Joyful mystery, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, the Angel Gabriel tells the Blessed Vir-gin Mary, ‘You are to conceive and bear a son and you must name him Jesus.’
Our Father, Hail Mary…….. Thy womb, Jesus, AT THE ANNUNCIATION. Holy Mary….
The second Joyful Mystery, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, your Mother Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth, who says, “Why should I be honoured with a visit from the Mother of my Lord?”’
Our Father, Hail Mary……..thy womb Jesus, AT THE VISITATION. Holy Mary….
The third Joyful Mystery, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, You are born in a stable at Bethle-hem, being laid in an animal’s feeding trough. The Word was made flesh: You lived among us.’
Our Father, Hail Mary……..thy womb Jesus, AT HIS BIRTH. Holy Mary…..
The fourth Joyful Mystery, ‘ Lord Jesus Christ, your Mother Mary and Saint Joseph present You to God the Father in the Temple, and Simeon says’, “Lord, my eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared for all the nations to see.”’
9
Our Father, Hail Mary……..thy womb Jesus, AT THE PRESENTATION. Holy Mary...
The fifth Joyful Mystery, ‘ Lord Jesus Christ, your Mother Mary and Saint Joseph find You in the Temple, after You had been missing for three days, and You said, “Did you not know that I must be busy with My Father’s affairs?” ‘
Our Father, Hail Mary…thy womb Jesus, FOUND IN THE TEMPLE. Holy Mary…..
The first Luminous Mystery, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, You are baptised in the River Jor-dan by John the Baptist and Your Father proclaims from heaven, “This is My Son the Beloved: My favour rests on Him.”’
Our Father…..Hail Mary...thy womb, Jesus, AT HIS BAPTISM. Holy Mary…..
The second Luminous Mystery, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, You change water into wine at the Wedding Feast at Cana, at the intercession of your Mother Mary’.
Our Father…..Hail Mary...thy womb, Jesus, AT CANA. Holy Mary…..
The third Luminous Mystery, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, you proclaim the Kingdom of Heaven in Galilee, and urge your followers to repent and believe the Good News.’
Our Father…..Hail Mary...thy womb, Jesus, PREACHING. Holy Mary…..
The fourth Luminous Mystery, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, you are transfigured on Mount Tabor, in the presence of Peter, James and John, and Moses and Elijah, and your Father proclaims from heaven, “This is My Beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!”’
Our Father…..Hail Mary...thy womb, Jesus, AT THE TRANSFIGURATION. Holy Mary…
The fifth Luminous Mystery, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, You institute the Most Blessed Sacrament at the Last Supper when you say, “This is My Body; This is My Blood.”’
Our Father…..Hail Mary...thy womb, Jesus, AT THE LAST SUPPER. Holy Mary…
The first Sorrowful Mystery, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, You pray in agony in the Garden: “Father, your Will be done—not mine”’. Our Father…..Hail Mary...thy womb, Je-sus, IN GETHSEMANE. Holy Mary…
The second Sorrowful Mystery, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, You are stripped and scourged, saying, “I offered my back to those who struck me.”’ Our Father…..Hail Mary...thy womb, Jesus, BEING SCOURGED. Holy Mary…
The third Sorrowful Mystery, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, You are cruelly and mockingly crowned with thorns as “King of the Jews”, but You are our King and Judge. Our Father…..Hail Mary...thy womb, Jesus, CROWNED WITH THORNS. Holy Mary…
10
The fourth Sorrowful Mystery, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, You struggle to Calvary with the Cross. You bear our iniquity, You suffer for our sins’. Our Father…..Hail Mary...thy womb, Jesus, CARRYING THE CROSS. Holy Mary……
The fifth Sorrowful Mystery, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, You are crucified for us sinners,
saying, “Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they are doing.”’
Our Father…..Hail Mary...thy womb, Jesus, CRUCIFIED. Holy Mary…….
The first Glorious Mystery, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, You rise from the dead and two an-
gels speak from the empty tomb, “He is not here—He is Risen!”’
Our Father…..Hail Mary...thy womb, Jesus, AT HIS RESURRECTION. Holy Mary….
The second Glorious Mystery, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, You ascend to heaven and an
angel tells your disciples, ”He will return in the same way as you have seen Him
go there.”’ Our Father…..Hail Mary...thy womb, Jesus, AT THE ASCENSION. Holy
Mary…
The third Glorious Mystery, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, You send the Holy Spirit on Our
Lady and the apostles, who receive from the Holy Spirit the gift of tongues and
are heard speaking in foreign languages’. Our Father…..Hail Mary...thy womb,
Jesus, AT PENTECOST. Holy Mary….
The Fourth Glorious Mystery, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, You take your Mother Mary to
heaven, from where she tells St. Bernadette, “I am the Immaculate Conception.”’
Our Father…..Hail Mary...thy womb, Jesus, AT YOUR ASSUMPTION. Holy Mary…
The fifth Glorious Mystery, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, You crown your Mother Mary
Queen of heaven and Earth, and she says, “All generations will call me blessed.”’
Our Father…..Hail Mary...thy womb, Jesus, AT YOUR CORONATION. Holy Mary…
+ + +
11
On 30th May, the first Mass reading was from the 2nd Letter of St. Peter 1:2-7
Our priest said it was so important that we ought to re-read it every week. So I in-clude it here. I’m sure St. Francis would agree. In any case, if we follow this advice, we will be better Franciscans and better Christians.
May you have more and more grace and peace as you come to know Our Lord more and more.
By his divine power, he has given us all the things that we need for life and for true devotion, bringing us to know God himself, who has called us by his own glo-
ry and goodness. In making these gifts he has given us the guarantee of some-thing very great and wonderful to come: through them you will be able to share the divine nature and to escape corruption in a world that is sunk in vice. But to
attain this, you will have to do your utmost yourselves,
adding goodness to the faith that you have,
understanding to your goodness,
self-control to your understanding,
patience to your self-control,
true devotion to your patience,
‘kindness towards your fellow men’ to your devotion,
and, to this kindness, love.
+ + +
Michael Simmonds ofs
[Editor]
12
Walsingham, 3rd September 2016
Under the leadership of Debbie Boole, our EAR Regional Minister, about twelve tertiaries from Norwich, Ipswich and Bedford gathered at Friday Market at 11:00. Some members arrived around 10:00 or earlier and some availed themselves of Confession in the Church of the Annunciation at Friday Market in connection with the Jubilee of Mercy indulgence.
It was surprisingly quiet for Walsingham and the weather was fine for our walking of the Holy Mile, during which our little group prayed the rosary in a more devo-tional way than is usual in a big procession. Two of our tertiaries had wheelchairs, with assistance from fellow tertiaries.
The Barn Church was fairly full, but not overcrowded, which was more suited to a devotional experience.
The Memorial Mass of St. Gregory the Great was concelebrated by the administra-tor of the Shrine, Monsignor Armitage and about five priests with a deacon as-sisting. The sermon by Mgr. Armitage was about learning to love by loving, and learning to act by acting. He said we cannot learn to love by reading a book and cannot learn to do good without doing some good works.
At the end of Mass Mgr. Armitage reminded us of the work that has to be done at the shrine and asked us to take a form to fill in and send donations. There was also a collection during the Mass for the same cause and another hopeful person at the door as we went out, who was holding a bucket. I don’t think he gained much by being there!
After Mass we gathered together at a table under a tree and ate our packed lunch-es. It rained a bit, but not enough to dampen our spirits. When it suited each of us, we went through the Jubilee Door of Mercy and said the appropriate prayers to gain the indulgence and visited Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament in the Slipper Chapel and prayed there before the statue of Our Lady of Walsingham.
Debbie informed us that Pope Francis has added two more Works of Mercy to the 14 we had already. The new ones are:
“May the works of mercy also include care for our common home,” he said, ex-plaining that as a spiritual work of mercy, care for creation “calls for a grateful contemplation of God’s world which allows us to discover in each thing a teach-ing which God wishes to hand on to us.”
Walsingham, 3rd September 2016
Under the leadership of Debbie Boole, our EAR Regional Minister, about twelve tertiaries from Norwich, Ipswich and Bedford gathered at Friday Market at 11:00. Some members arrived around 10:00 or earlier and some availed themselves of Confession in the Church of the Annunciation at Friday Market in connection with the Jubilee of Mercy indulgence.
It was surprisingly quiet for Walsingham and the weather was fine for our walking of the Holy Mile, during which our little group prayed the rosary in a more devo-tional way than is usual in a big procession. Two of our tertiaries had wheelchairs, with assistance from fellow tertiaries.
The Barn Church was fairly full, but not overcrowded, which was more suited to a devotional experience.
The Memorial Mass of St. Gregory the Great was concelebrated by the administra-tor of the Shrine, Monsignor Armitage and about five priests with a deacon as-sisting. The sermon by Mgr. Armitage was about learning to love by loving, and learning to act by acting. He said we cannot learn to love by reading a book and cannot learn to do good without doing some good works.
At the end of Mass Mgr. Armitage reminded us of the work that has to be done at the shrine and asked us to take a form to fill in and send donations. There was also a collection during the Mass for the same cause and another hopeful person at the door as we went out, who was holding a bucket. I don’t think he gained much by being there!
After Mass we gathered together at a table under a tree and ate our packed lunch-es. It rained a bit, but not enough to dampen our spirits. When it suited each of us, we went through the Jubilee Door of Mercy and said the appropriate prayers to gain the indulgence and visited Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament in the Slipper Chapel and prayed there before the statue of Our Lady of Walsingham.
Debbie informed us that Pope Francis has added two more Works of Mercy to the 14 we had already. The new ones are:
“May the works of mercy also include care for our common home,” he said, ex-plaining that as a spiritual work of mercy, care for creation “calls for a grateful contemplation of God’s world which allows us to discover in each thing a teach-ing which God wishes to hand on to us.”
13
As a corporal work of mercy, he said, it “requires simple daily gestures which break with the logic of violence, exploitation and selfishness and makes itself felt in every action that seeks to build a better world.”
Before some of us left, we went into the Barn Church again and found there was exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, which we didn’t know about earlier. After a while a priest or deacon led us in singing “O Sacrament Most Holy” and put the Blessed Sacrament back into the tabernacle.
By this time, the rain had established itself and on the way home we passed through some very heavy rain. However, we arrived home safely.
The whole day seemed more devotional than when there are great crowds at the shrine and it was a precious day. Thank you, Sister Debbie, for organising and lead-ing it.
Michael Simmonds ofs
Gospel-to-Life fraternity,
Bedford
As a corporal work of mercy, he said, it “requires simple daily gestures which break with the logic of violence, exploitation and selfishness and makes itself felt in every action that seeks to build a better world.”
Before some of us left, we went into the Barn Church again and found there was exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, which we didn’t know about earlier. After a while a priest or deacon led us in singing “O Sacrament Most Holy” and put the Blessed Sacrament back into the tabernacle.
By this time, the rain had established itself and on the way home we passed through some very heavy rain. However, we arrived home safely.
The whole day seemed more devotional than when there are great crowds at the shrine and it was a precious day. Thank you, Sister Debbie, for organising and lead-ing it.
Michael Simmonds ofs
Gospel-to-Life fraternity,
Bedford
14
What’s in a name?
A history of Greyfriars
Nobody knows the traditions, stories and
heritage of Bedford better than our Associ-
ation of Tour Guides. We continue our se-
ries in which they reveal our town’s biggest
secrets...
GREYFRIARS is a word associated with several well-known spots in our county
town, but how did it come to be?
A friar was a member of a religious order that was devoted to the rule of
‘poverty, travel and living’ in urban areas and evangelizing in these communities.
They were not allowed personal possessions and were entirely dependant of the
goodwill of the local people they preached to in exchange for food and shelter.
Greyfriars Friary, Bedford, was dedicated to the Franciscan Order who arrived in
England in 1221 and Bedford a few years later.
It is said in 1224 Mabilea de Plateshall of Bletsoe endowed the new settlement
with 17 acres of pasture land between what is now Bromham Road and Midland
Road.
It is recorded that in 1235 the King granted the Friary timber for fuel and records
also show that a greatly extended church was dedicated at the Friary in 1295.
Mabilea was buried in the church of the Friary and her tomb was under the arch
on the south side of the altar. Also buried there was John de Mowbray who died
of the plague in York in October 1361 but left instructions that he was to be bur-
ied at the Greyfriars and Sir Ralph Irencester who is said to have helped to fund
the building of the church, together with Richard Hastings, Chamberlain to King
Edward III.
15
All of these tombs have sadly long been lost, but the Mowbray family live on and
are now the Premier Barons of England.
One Henry Elstowe who was the Warden of the Franciscan Friary at Greenwich ap-
pears to have particularly incurred the displeasure of Henry VIII as he was banished
from Greenwich to Bedford to remain at the Greyfriar’s Friary until the King decided
further what to do with him.
The site of the buildings was close to where now stands Priory Lower School and
the adjacent children’s play area.
In 1899 Bedford Borough Council acquired the site and demolished the last surviv-
ing building which had actually been used as a farmhouse since the Dissolution of
the Friary in 1539.
The history of the area is still continued by the use of the names Greyfriars and Pri-
ory throughout this part of the town.
[From an article in Bedfordshire on Sunday weekly newspaper dated June 19th
2016, with permission. It was submitted by Michael Mortimer ofs, Gospel-to-Life
fraternity, Bedford.]
+ + +
EAR fraternities — and individuals — please send reports, suitable stories or po-
ems, or articles of Franciscan interest, to the editor, as well as your letters.
I am prepared to have letters of criticism. It would be good for my humility and im-
provements may result from constructive criticism. I am still new to this ministry.
Or to: 4 East Court, Goldington Green, Bedford. MK41 0AH.
Please don’t wait to be asked again — please send something to me. I hunger and
thirst for things of interest to include in the next issue, which I expect will be next
Spring, at the latest.
P.S. Do you like the layout? Is the print too small? Do you READ it? Do you KEEP it?
If I do not receive matter to print, I will have to use whatever I come across that
may be of Franciscan or regional interest. [Editor]
16
All fraternities should have received back in the spring of this year, via their regions, information about the 2017 OFSGB National Assembly entitled “Upon This Rock: Re-build My Church” which will be held in Gibraltar from Fri-day 21st April to Monday 24th April 2017. For more infor-mation ASK YOUR FRATERNITY COUNCIL. Here is an excel-lent opportunity to meet the successful and growing Gibral-tar fraternity, the largest fraternity in OFSGB, numbering about sixty. Gibraltar fully supported the Youth Gather held at Cold Ash, and has already established a Young Franciscan Group. Here you will see the Gibraltar fraternity in action on behalf of Syrian refugees. Christine Frendo from Gibraltar is our National Youth Coun-cillor and her daughter Joanna Torres is Youth Councillor for the London Region. It is now time to ask you to complete a registration form and mail it to Michael Martin, 25 Clevelands, ABINGDON, Oxon OX14 2EQ. by 15th November, together with your de-posit. We hope that a large number of members will wish to take advantage of this opportunity. Perhaps stay for a few extra days and make a holiday of it. Go on line to:[OFSGB – “Upon This Rock…I will build My
Church.”] for detailed information.
There you will get a programme and Booking Form with
itemised costs, which will be in the region of £350.00, PER
PERSON, including air fare.